Playing card dealing devices



Sept. 8, 1964 Filed Jan. 14, 1958 H. E. SJOSTRAND 3,147,978 PLAYING CARDDEALING DEVICES- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.2

IWE NTOR HJALMAR EMANUEL SJOSTRAND ATTORNEYS p 3, 1964 H. E. SJOSTRANDPLAYING CARD DEALING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 14, 1958 FIG. 5

FIG. 3

IN VENTOR HJALMAR EMANUEL SJ6STRAND MVM ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,147,978 PLAYING CARI) DEALING DEVIEES Hjairnar Enianuei Sjiistrand,Saxdalen, Sweden Filed Jan. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 708,954 Claims priority,application Sweden Jan. 16, 1957 17 Claims. (Cl. 273-149) The presentinvention relates to a device for mechanically dealing or dividing adeck of playing cards into a predetermined number of hands or groups.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a playing carddealing device in which the individual cards of the deck of cards areprojected into various compartments at a comparatively high speed whichis independent of the speed of the driving member of the device,ensuring a satisfactory operation even at low speeds of the drivingmember.

The invention is applicable in the first instance. to handdriven playingcard dealing devices, but it may be applied to advantage also to deviceswhich are motor-driven.

The invention will now be described by way of example having referenceto the accompanying drawings illustrating diagrammatically differentembodiments of the. invention.

FIGURE 1 shows in side view and partly in section part of a firstembodiment of a device according to the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view corresponding to FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a continuation of FIGURE 1 towards the right and shows anumber of compartments into which the cards are projected in succession.

FIGURE 4 shows in side view and partly in section part of a deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a modified arrangement forestablishing communication between the magazine for the deck of cardsand the various card receiving compartments.

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional view showing a modified card grippingdevice.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1 denotes aframe and the reference numeral 2 a magazine for a deck of cards. Themagazine has the shape of a box which is open on top and at one of itsshort sides and is so dimensioned that the playing cards will fit intothe box with a certain lateral clearance. The reference numeral 6denotes a moveable bottom or platform secured by means of a screw 5 inhorizontal position to a tube 4 guided for vertical movement in an outerfixed tube 3. Disposed within the inner tube 4 is a helical spring 8dimensioned to lift the deck of cards 7 and press the uppermost cardagainst two limit rollers 9 journaled on a horizontal pin 10. The spring8 is furthermore so dimensioned that its expanding pressure decreases atsuch ratio according as the cards 7 are projected from the magazine thatthe contact pressure between the cards and the limit rollers 9 willremain substantially constant independently of the number of cards heldfor the moment in the magazine.

A driving shaft 11 is provided with a hand crank 12 at one end and witha gear wheel 14 at the other end. The gear wheel 14 is in mesh with asmaller gear wheel 15 secured on a driven shaft 16, the gear ratio being1:4. On the driven shaft 16 is also secured a small flywheel 17 by meansof a pin 13. Adjacent the flywheel 17 there is freely journaled on thedriven shaft 16 a cup-shaped card projecting drum 19 of light metal, theopen side of said drum facing the flywheel.

The flywheel 17 and the card projecting drum 19 are coupled together bymeans of a helical Spring 22 which is secured at one end to a pin 23 inthe flywheel 17 and at 3,1d'i,'i8 Patented Sept. 8, 1964 the other endto a pin 24 in the drum 19. For limiting the angular displacementbetween the flywheel and the drum there is provided on the flywheel anaxially extending pin 20 which projects through an arcuate slot 21provided in the end wall of the drum near the periphery thereof.

Provided on the outside of the end wall of the drum 19 is a Wedge-shapedsegment 25 with which cooperates a brake-block 26 of friction materialsecured to one end of a blade spring 27 the other end of which issecured to the frame 1 by means of a screw 28 and a fastener 29. Theblade spring 27 is so positioned that its brake-block 26 is free fromthe drum except when the brake segment 25 passes under the brake-block,its thinner end leading, the braking effect increasing successively withthe increased pressure of the blade spring against the brake block. Dueto the braking of the drum 19 the drum will be caused to lag behind theflywheel a maximum angle, as shown in FIGURE 1, against the action ofthe coupling spring 22, tensioning the coupling spring further.

Secured to the circumference of the drum is a projecting segment 30 offrictional rubber, the outer radius of said segment being such that thesegment reaches somewhat below the level of the underside of the limitrollers 9 when the drum takes up the position shown in FIGURE 1, i.e.the projecting segment 39 will take up its lowermost position ingripping engagement with the uppermost card 7 at the very moment whenthe brake segment 25 slides 011? the brake block 26. When the braking ofthe card projecting drum 19 thus suddenly ceases, the tensioned couplingspring 22 will rapidly pull the drum forward to its other limitposition, in consequence of which the drum 19 will increase itsperipheral speed during the last stage of the feeding-out movement ofthe uppermost card in the deck of cards, so that the said card isprojected from the magazine 2 at a high speed also in case the handcrank 12 is turned slowly.

The reference numeral 32 denotes a guide member for the projected card,the said guide member being turnable at one end around a horizontal pin34- and being supported at its other end by a vertically disposedhelical spring 36 tensioned between a pin 37 in the frame 1 and a point38 at the upper side of the guide member. A link in the shape of a bladespring 39 couples the guide member 32 to a follower 41 which isswingable about a pin 40 and presses against a cam disc 42 secured tothe driving shaft 11. The cam disc 42 is shown as having four sections,each section comprising a comparatively short eccentric portion and acomparatively long concentric portion so that on rotation of the drivingshaft 11 the guide member 42 will be moved stepwise stopping for aninstant right opposite one of four fixed guide paths 33 each time a card7 is projected from the magazine 2.

In the embodiment shown, the fixed guide paths 33, which are made ofpolished plate of light metal, are somewhat narrower at their inlet andoutlet openings, their middle portions being wider in a verticaldirection for the purpose of decreasing friction while retaining acertain guiding effect. The fixed guide paths 33 each opens at the upperedge of a corresponding pocket or compartment 44 the bottom of whichforms an obtuse angle with the guide path, causing the rapidly movingcard to slide with its front edge against the lower guide surfaceobliquely upwards, causing its rear edge on account of the resilientbending of the card to move downwards so that it bounces against therear wall behind the outlet opening of the guide path and sinks to thebottom before the next card is received.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 the same device may be used alternativelyfor dividing the deck of cards either into four parts, as alreadydescribed, or into six parts. For that purpose there is secured on theshaft 11 by means of a pin 46 a gear Wheel 45, and on the shaft 16 bymeans of a pin 48 a gear wheel 47, the gear ratio in this case being1:6. An extra cam disc 49 is also secured to the shaft 11. Said extracam disc has six sections of 60 each, the four innermost sections havingthe same radii as the four sections of the cam disc 42, whereas thefifth and the sixth sections have correspondingly larger radii. Theextra cam disc is secured in such a position on the shaft that thebeginning of its first section is located exactly opposite thecorresponding point 42a on the cam disc 42. The hand crank 12 is sosecured to the shaft as to extend in the same radial direction as theinner portion of the cam disc. It follows that when the hand crank isdirected downwards it can be moved together with the shaft, the camdiscs and the gear wheels in an axial direction to cause the gear wheels45 and 47 to mesh. The gear wheels 45 and 47 will mesh before the gearwheels 14 and 15 unmesh, and vice versa.

Also the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 comprises a spring which gives thecard projecting member a rapid movement in the card projectingdirection. In the embodiment shown the uppermost card in the deck ofcards placed in the magazine is gripped by a small downwardly concavesuction cup of soft rubber. Vulcanized to the uppermost portion of therubber cup and extending upwardly through a hole near the end of a bladespring 57 is a small screw bolt 56, the screw bolt being secured to theblade spring by means of a small ball-shaped nut 58. The portion of theblade spring carrying the rubber cup 55 extends substantiallyhorizontally. An extension of the blade spring is bent through an angleof about 90 around a metal bushing 59, to which the spring is secured,the extension extending upwardly for a distance of about 1 centimeter.Secured to the upper end of the extension is a small weight 66. Thebushing 59 is journaled on a horizontal pin 61 secured to the lower endof a card projecting rod or arm 62, said arm being made of light metalplate and being U-shaped in cross section. The card projecting rod 62 isturnably journaled at its upper end on a horizontal pin 64 secured byelements 65 to the front side of a frame 66.

The frame 66 has the shape of a box open at top and bottom and providedat one of its corners with a cylindrical sleeve 67 for receiving acarrying pipe 69 extending from a bottom plate 68. Provided at the frontside of the frame 66 is a horizontal projection 70 the outer portion 71of which is directed at right angles downwardly and provided with a pin72 to which is secured one end of the card projecting spring 73 theother end of said spring being secured to the card projecting arm 62 bymeans of a pin 74. Near to the upper end of said rod or arm 62 the twoside plates of the arm are shaped to form a projecting nose 75 at thepoint of which a narrow roller 76 is journaled on a pin 76a.

Secured on the driving shaft 77 is a symmetrical fourarmed cam member78. With said cam member 78 cooperates the roller 76 on the cardprojecting rod 62, said roller being pressed against the eccentricsurfaces of the cam member by the card projecting spring 73. After saidroller during rotation of the shaft has been lifted to the outerextremity of an arm of the cam member 78 and thus has swung the cardprojecting arm 62 to its starting position while tensioning the spring73, it suddenly slides off the point permitting the spring 73 to pullthe car projecting arm 62 rapidly to its other limit position.

On account of the inertia of the weight 60 said weight will cause theblade spring 57 to swing on its axis each time the card projecting rod62 changes its direction of movement. This happens in the two limitpositions shown at 62a and 62b in FIGURE 4. In said figure is also shownthe changed positions of the gripping memher 55 with respect to theuppermost card in the magazine 79, the gripping member being pressedagainst the card at the rear end position 62a and being caused torelease the card at the front end position 62b. In the latter positionthe card has obtained a very high velocity in a direction out throughthe guide path 86 to the card receiving compartments.

It should be noted that the gripping cup must not necessarily bepositioned at the lagging end of a blade spring link or the like, but itmay also be positioned at the leading end. In such a case the weight 60must be eliminated or arranged in other manner than shown.

The arrangement shown in FIGURE 4 for successively directing the cardsto different compartments consists of a spiral shaped cam 80 provided onthe driving shaft 77, an angular lever 81 swingably mounted on a pin 82at the front side of the frame 66. On a connecting rod 83 secured to thefree end of the angular lever 81 is provided a helical spring 84 adaptedto press the connecting rod upwardly. At its lower end the connectingrod is pivotally secured to a guide member 86 swingably secured at theoutlet end of the magazine by means of a pin 85. Said guide path ormember is intended to cooperate with four fixed guide paths leading eachto a corresponding pocket or compartment, for instance of the kind shownin FIGURES l to 3. The driving shaft 77 is normally provided with a handcrank, not shown. Alternatively, a small electric motor may be used as adriving source.

In FEGURE 5 is illustrated another embodiment of the device forsuccessively guiding the projected playing cards to various pockets orcompartments. The swingable guide member 32 or 86 shown in FIGURES l and4 is here substituted by a plurality of guide paths 87 combined to forma unit and journaled by means of a pin 88 in posts 89 rising from thebottom plate. At the outlet from the magazine is arranged a fixedmouthpiece 90 provided with a narrow slit-shaped month which guides therapidly projected cards into the inlets of said guide paths and pockets.The desired swinging movement of the unit 87 may be obtained forinstance by means of the connecting rod 83 shown in FIGURE 4 or theblade spring 39 shown in FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 6 there is shown in cross section and on 1 an enlarged scale amodified embodiment of the gripping member at the lower end of the cardprojecting rod 62 of FIGURE 4.

For obtaining a higher suction power in the rubber cup 55 than the oneresulting from the contact pressure caused by the weight 60, FIGURE 4,there is provided a small rubber bladder 91 enclosed in a small box 92in the card projecting rod 62, rectangular openings 93 and 93a beingprovided at the rear and front sides of the box.

At the bottom of the bladder is provided with narrow rubber hose 94leading through opening 95 out from the box and extending to the insideof the suction cup 55. Both ends of the rubber hose are glued to therespective rubber members. In FIGURE 6 the weight 60 and part of theblade spring are cut away to illustrate the above described details moreclearly. At the upper edge of the card magazine or at an extensionthereof are secured two substantially equal abutments 96, only one ofsaid abutments being shown. The effective part of each abutment 96 isadapted to pass through the opening 93 or 9311 to partly compress thebladder 91 when the card projecting rod approaches one of its limitpositions, as shown in FIGURE 4. In this manner part of the air isdriven out from the bladder 91 before the rubber cup 55 is moved intoengagement with the uppermost card 7. When the card ejector rodcontinues its movement forwardly in its card projecting direction thebladder is released from pressure and will expand resiliently causing anincrease of the vacuum and a more secure grip between the cup and thecard. Immediately before the card projecting member 62 has reached thelimit position shown in dotted lines at 62b in FIGURE 4 the other ofsaid abutments, not shown, will enter through the front opening 93a ofthe box 92 and compress the bladder 91 very rapidly, causing the suctionin the rubber cup 55 to cease and enabling the cup to be lifted from thecard in the manner already described.

As will be easily understood the playing card dealing devicesillustrated and described may be used not only for dealing the cards inthe deck of cards to the participants of a card game but may also beused for mixing the cards in the deck. Such mixing may be effected byplacing the various groups of cards obtained by operating the deviceupon one another in an arbitrary order and place the cards in themagazine anew, whereafter the device is operated as before.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination comprising amagazine having an open top and adapted for receiving a deck of playingcards to be dealt, a member, means mounting said member for back andforth movement across the top of said magazine, means carried by thelower portion of said member and operable to grip the topmost card ofsaid deck during movement of said member in one direction, spring meansbiasing said member in said one direction, and cyclically operatingmeans repetitively moving said member back across the magazine againstthe force of said spring to thereby load the spring and then suddenlyreleasing the member and unloading the spring, the last-mentioned meanspermitting unrestrained snap action of the member forwardly in said onedirection under the influence of unrestrained unloading of said springmeans upon said release, whereby on each such cycle of operation thetopmost card in said magazine is ejected therefrom.

2. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination comprising amagazine having an open top and adapted for receiving a deck of playingcards to be dealt, a member, means mounting said member for back andforth movement across the top of said magazine, means carried by thelower portion of said member and 0perable to grip the topmost card ofsaid deck during movement of said member in one direction, spring meansbiasing said member in said one direction, cyclically operating meansrepetitively moving said member back across the magazine against theforce of said spring and then suddenly releasing the member, thelast-mentioned means permitting unrestrained snap action of the memberforwardly in said one direction under the influence of said spring meansupon said release, whereby on each such cycle of operation the topmostcard in said magazine is ejected therefrom, means providing a series offixed card receiving compartments disposed one over the other and havingopen ends facing said magazine, a guide member open at both ends andinterposed between said magazine and compartment means for the passageof cards ejected in said one direction from said magazine to saidcompartment means, said guide member being mounted for move ment of thecard discharge end thereof successively into registry with the open endsof said compartments, and means for moving said card discharge end ofthe guide member successively into registry with the open ends of saidcompartments in predetermined timed relation to operation of saidcyclically operating means for directing cards into the compartments inpredetermined order.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said member comprises anarm rockable about a horizontally extending axis and depending therefromdirectly over said magazine, and said cyclically operating meansincludes a revolvable member having a cam adapted for coaction with afollower carried by said arm, said arm being moved against said springmeans by engagement of the follower with said cam and being released forsaid unrestrained snap action in the card ejecting direction when saidfollower drops from said cam.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 wherein the means for moving theguide member includes a second cam on the revolvable member adapted forcoaction with a follower operatively connected with the guide member.

5. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said member comprises anarm rockable about a horizontally extending axis and depending therefromdirectly over said magazine, said cyclically operating means includes arevolvable member having a set of cams adapted for coaction successivelywith a follower carried by said arm, said arm being moved against theforce of said spring means when said follower is engaged with one ofsaid cams and being released for moving freely in card ejectingdirection when said follower drops from one of said cams for engagementwith the next succeeding cam, and wherein the means for moving the guidemember includes a spirally shaped cam on the revolvable member adaptedfor coaction with a cam follower oper-atively connected by a pressurerod with the guide member.

6. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said card grippingmeans comprises a frictional gripping element, mean-s mounting saidelement on said member for vertical movement, a weight carried by saidmember and shiftable relative thereto by intertia during said back andforth strokes of the member, means coupling said element to saidshiftable weight, the coupling being such that shifting of the weight assaid member reverses to move forwardly in said one direction effects thelowering of said element to card engaging level, and as the memberreverses to move backwardly said gripping element is lifted above saidlevel.

7. The combination according to claim 6, wherein said means mountingsaid element includes a leaf spring carrying the element at its freeend.

8. The combination according to claim 6, wherein said element comprisesa downwardly opening suction cup, and further including a resilientbladder, means providing an air passage between said bladder and theinterior of said suction cup; and means striking said bladder to expelair therefrom at each said reversal of said member.

9. The combination according to claim 8, wherein said bladder is mountedon said member and the last-mentioned means comprise stationaryabutments in the path of movement of the bladder.

10. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination comprising amagazine having an open top and adapted for receiving a deck of playingcards to be dealt, a member, means mounting said member for back andforth movement across the top of said magazine, means carried by thelower portion of said member and operable to grip the topmost card ofsaid deck during movement of said member in one direction, spring meansbiasing said member in said one direction, cyclically operating meansrepetitively moving said member back and forth across the magazineagainst the force of said spring and then suddenly releasing the member,the last-mentioned means permitting unrestrained snap action of themember forwardly in said one direction under the influence of saidspring means upon said release, whereby on each said cycle of operation,the topmost card in said magazine is ejected therefrom, means providinga series of compartments fixed relative to one another and disposed oneover the other with open ends facing said magazine, and verticallymovable means operable in predetermined timed relation to saidcyclically operating means for successively bringing the open ends ofsaid compartments operatively into alignment with the path of dischargeof the cards from the magazine, said member comprising an arm rockableabout a horizontally extending axis and depending therefrom directlyover said magazine, and the cyclically operating means for moving andthen releasing said member including a revolvable member having a camadapted for coaction with a follower carried by said arm, said arm beingrestrained when said follower is engaged with said cam and beingreleased for moving freely in card ejecting direction when said followerdrops from said cam, the card gripping means including a leaf springmember rockably mounted upon a lower end portion of said arm a weightshiftably mounted upon said arm and connected to one end portion of saidspring member, and a suction cup depending from the opposite end portionof said spring member.

11. The combination defined in claim 10, wherein the card gripping meansincludes a resilient bladder mounted upon said arm for movementtherewith and communicating with the interior of the suction cup throughthe bottom of said bladder, and stationary abutment means for engagingsaid bladder and thereby deflating the same when said arm is in eitherof its extreme positions.

12. In a card feeding device for dealing playing cards, the combinationcomprising a magazine having in open top and adapted for receiving adeck of playing cards to be dealt, card gripping means, and means movingsaid gripping means in a card ejecting stroke across the top of saidmagazine and into engagement with the topmost card therein, saidgripping means comprising a suction cup, an air bladder, means providingan air passage connecting said bladder with the 'mterior of said suctioncup, the means striking said bladder just prior to engagement of thesuction cup with the topmost card and again at the end of said cardejecting stroke, whereby suction is created to grip the card and air isexpelled to release the card.

13. In a card feeding device for dealing playing cards, the combinationcomprising a magazine having an open top and adapted for receiving adeck of playing cards to be dealt, card gripping means, means movingsaid gripping means in back and forth strokes across the top of saidmagazine and for moving said gripping means into engagement with thetopmost card therein during card feeding strokes in one direction, saidcard gripping means comprising a downwardly opening suction cup, aresilient air bladder mounted on said card gripping means, means on saidcard gripping means providing an air passage between said bladder andthe interior of said suction cup, and means on said magazine operable atthe beginning and end of each forward stroke to force air positivelyfrom said bladder.

14. The combination according to claim 13, wherein the last-mentionedmeans comprise stationary abutments positioned to be struck by thebladder at the beginning and end of each forward stroke of the cardgripping means.

15. In a card feeding device for dealing playing cards, the combinationcomprising a magazine having an open top and adapted for receiving adeck of playing cards to be dealt, a member, means moving said memberback and forth across the top of said magazine, and card gripping meanscomprising a frictional gripping element, means mounting said element onsaid member for vertical movement, a weight carried by said member andshiftable relative thereto by inertia during back and forth strokes ofthe member, means coupling said element to said shiftable weight, thecoupling being such that shifting of the weight as said member reversesto move forwardly in card ejecting direction effects the lowering ofsaid element to card engaging level, and as the member reverses to movebackwardly said gripping element is lifted above said level.

16. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination comprising amagazine having an open top and adapted for receiving a deck of cards tobe dealt, a card ejecting member mounted for movement across the top ofsaid magazine, means carried by said member and operable, duringmovement of said member in card ejecting direction, to frictionally gripthe topmost card of said deck, to slide said card in the plane thereofacross the next underlying card to automatically release said card,spring means biasing said card ejecting member in card ejectingdirection, means for moving said card ejecting member to the initialcard ejecting position while tensioning said spring, and means operativeduring each card ejecting cycle for restraining said card ejectingmember against the influence of said spring bias and then suddenlyreleasing the same, the last-mentioned means permitting unrestrictedsnap action of the member in card ejecting direction under the influenceof said spring means upon said release, whereby in each such cycle ofoperation the topmost card of said magazine is ejected therefrom at ahigh speed.

17. A device for dealing playing cards including a frame, a continuouslyrotatable driving member, a magazine for a deck of cards and having ayielding bottom and an open top, shaft means mounted above and acrosssaid open top, a feeding member having at an outermost portion a cardgripping means and being rotatably mounted on said shaft means, springmeans engaging said feeding member and adapted to intermittently actuatesaid feeding member through a card feeding movement, and means forintermittently loading said spring means during a movement of saidfeeding member to the initial position of a card feeding movement, saidspring loading means including an actuating member mounted on saidrotatable member for contact with said feeding member to actuate thesame in a direction effecting loading of said spring means, saidactuating member being out of contact with said feeding member during acard feeding movement to permit unrestrained movement of said feedingmember.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS758,453 Lagerman Apr. 26, 1904 1,207,669 Troubridge Dec. 5, 19161,310,613 Gilbert July 22, 1919 1,554,429 Hasselquist Sept. 22, 19251,909,122 Ring et al. May 16, 1933 2,065,824 Plass Dec. 29, 19362,581,247 Florant Jan. 1, 1952 2,588,582 Sivertson Mar. 11, 19522,666,646 Cicero Jan. 19, 1954

16. IN A DEVICE FOR DEALING PLAYING CARDS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING AMAGAZINE HAVING AN OPEN TOP AND ADAPTED FOR RECEIVING A DECK OF CARDS TOBE DEALT, A CARD EJECTING MEMBER MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT ACROSS THE TOP OFSAID MAGAZINE, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID MEMBER AND OPERABLE, DURINGMOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER IN CARD EJECTING DIRECTION, TO FRICTIONALLY GRIPTHE TOPMOST CARD OF SAID DECK, TO SLIDE SAID CARD IN THE PLANE THEREOFACROSS THE NEXT UNDERLYING CARD TO AUTOMATICALLY RELEASE SAID CARD,SPRING MEANS BIASING SAID CARD EJECTING MEMBER IN CARD EJECTINGDIRECTION, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID CARD EJECTING MEMBER TO THE INITIALCARD EJECTING POSITION WHILE TENSIONING SAID SPRING, AND MEANS OPERATIVEDURING EACH CARD EJECTING CYCLE FOR RESTRAINING SAID CARD EJECTINGMEMBER AGAINST THE INFLUENCE OF SAID SPRING BIAS AND THEN SUDDENLYRELEASING THE SAME, THE LAST-MENTIONED MEANS PERMITTING UNRESTRICTEDSNAP ACTION OF THE MEMBER IN CARD EJECTING DIRECTION UNDER THE INFLUENCEOF SAID SPRING MEANS UPON SAID RELEASE, WHEREBY IN EACH SUCH CYCLE OFOPERATION THE TOPMOST CARD OF SAID MAGAZINE IS EJECTED THEREFROM AT AHIGH SPEED.